Vegas Vickie Comes Down From Her Perch

We’ve seen a lot of changes on Fremont Street, accelerating at an ever-faster pace. Yet it seemed there were few folks we could always count on to be there for us: Vegas Vic and Vegas Vickie, the cowboy and cowgirl who flanked the west end of Fremont for decades. Hell, the pair were even “married” in 1994. But on Monday, workers began the process of removing Vickie from atop her perch to make way for a new casino development. Where will she go? Well, rather like Vickie herself used to be, it’s up in the air.

Derek Stevens, owner of The D as well as the new property Vickie is making way for is “actively on the hunt for a home of Vegas Vickie,” says spokesperson Kara Rutkin. While it is hoped she will remain Downtown, nothing is certain yet. Rutkin also notes that the move isn’t breaking up Vic and Vickie’s marriage since, “she and Vegas Vic have been living in separate buildings for a while. They’ve just grown apart over the years and it’s an amicable separation.”

Photos by Tom Donoghue Photography

One place the sign will not be going is the Neon Museum—but, according to a spokesperson, they “hope it is reinstalled somewhere soon where the public can enjoy it.”

The removal of Vegas Vickie isn’t the only change in the Fremont streetscape. The El Portal Theater opened in 1928 and is currently a gift shop; an application has been made to gut the building—including its art deco/Native American façade—to turn it into a “food emporium” that will also sell liquor. Which begs the question: How come we can get rid of Vickie and the El Portal, but we’re still stuck with Neonopolis?